Ya they tried getting me to go down a double black diamond as well, I didnt know what that was but we had a girl skier with us and she told me to not do it. So i didnt. So you'd say group over private for first time. i guess really the lessons are more a push in the right direction, its all about practice though

Sounds like your "friends" were trying to kill you.

edit: here's an example of a famous double black in Jackson Hole called Corbet's Couloir